# Chapter 180
But.
‘You saved me.’
‘So, don’t leave me.’
What sweet words these were. For Iyeon, whose memories of the past were filled with nothing but guilt, it felt like being handed an indulgence. Iyeon couldn’t help but hastily accept the words Sano had offered.
Sano, speaking so resolutely, shone so brightly that it evoked a longing Iyeon didn’t even know existed. The one and only success in a past full of failures. Perhaps, perhaps just this one. As long as he didn’t become greedy like before, if he could just have this one thing…
Not knowing he would end up liking him.
Not knowing he would learn the truth only after coming to like him.
“I thought I was at least a little helpful… but that was just my delusion.”
There had been nothing in the past that Iyeon had succeeded at.
This was his limit. He simply couldn’t endure anymore.
“He suits playing the hero more than being here anyway.”
“What’s wrong with here?”
“Just… I’ve been holding him back too much.”
Iyeon muttered dejectedly. Hyegang stared at him blankly, his lips moving several times before finally letting out a light sigh.
“Well, fine. That’s your choice, hyung.”
With a shrug of his shoulders, Hyegang concluded the conversation and stood up from the sofa. His previously somewhat serious face had completely vanished, replaced by a playful tone.
“Then all that’s left is to be careful. He might be a bit persistent, but if you avoid him well for a while, shouldn’t it be okay?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
When Iyeon asked in confusion, Hyegang’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What do you mean ‘what’? After driving Sano-hyung away like that, do you think Jesan will just sit quietly?”
*
Riiing…
“Hey, your phone’s ringing.”
“It’s spam.”
“It seems to be ringing constantly.”
“These days, the problem of personal information leaks is very serious. The self-interest of corporations…”
Iyeon mumbled as he flipped over his phone screen displaying “Kim Jongchan” as the caller and put the call on hold.
True to Hyegang’s prediction, starting from lunchtime, calls began coming alternately from Jongchan and Jonghee. They must have heard the news about Sano around that time.
Soon, Iyeon’s phone was filled with a persistent list of call logs. Kim Jongchan, Kim Jongchan, Kim Jonghee, Kim Jongchan, Kim Jonghee, Kim Jongchan, unknown number, Kim Jonghee, Kim Jongchan… The missed calls that were still accumulating in real-time had exceeded double digits by early evening and were about to break into triple digits. They were persistent despite surely realizing that Iyeon was deliberately not answering.
Thinking it was just a matter of time before they came to his office, Iyeon hurriedly took refuge in D.S’s workshop. As always, D.S complained irritably, asking if this was his playground, but she quieted down after Iyeon promised to look after Mirae when she returned from school later.
“How does it feel living with your daughter?”
Having pushed his momentarily silent phone far away, Iyeon asked in a deliberately cheerful tone. The workshop appeared to have been half taken over by colorful toys. Play kitchen sets, world classic fairy tales, and cute-looking robots that seemed too intricate for a child to play with were scattered everywhere—a rather incongruous yet heartwarming sight.
“How does it feel? It’s just living together.”
D.S replied indifferently. Gone was the crying, emotional face from when she had reunited with Mirae, replaced by an expression of utter aloofness.
“Why? Mirae says she loves it.”
“…She said that?”
“Of course. You know how often I stay in touch with Mirae.”
As Iyeon gestured toward his phone with a mischievous smile, right on cue, the phone rang again. Rattle. The vibration made a loud noise against the desk. The caller was the same name as before. Oh shoot! Startled by his own device, Iyeon quickly put the call on hold and continued speaking.
“I even know what clothes Mirae wore today. But aren’t you dressing her too warmly? She might get heat rash.”
“She said she wanted to wear that. Said she was cold.”
“Well, since it’s the changing season, the weather is unpredictable. Anyway, she’s eager to go on outings here and there with her mom. Did you know Mirae has already made a list? You’ll need to move quickly to visit all those places before it gets really cold.”
Although winter was still a few months away, living in an era of increasingly severe climate change meant the weather could shift dramatically at the slightest lapse of attention. They would probably need to diligently go out every weekend to barely satisfy Mirae.
As far as Iyeon knew, D.S’s workshop didn’t have a set holiday. Moreover, D.S was always immersed in work whenever Iyeon visited, indicating an enormous workload. While she might have thrown herself into work before to soothe the emptiness of having lost her daughter, wouldn’t it be important now to reduce her workload and create holidays to spend time with Mirae?
However, contrary to Iyeon’s expectation that she would lightly nod in agreement, D.S frowned.
“…I don’t really want to leave the house empty these days.”
“Is work that busy? At this rate, D.S-ssi, aren’t you addicted to work? People aren’t robots; they need time to rest too.”
“No, that’s not it…”
D.S even stopped her work and carefully chose her words. Iyeon noticed that her face had taken on a somewhat perplexed expression.
“I think there’s a fairy housekeeper in my house.”
“…Pardon?”
What fairy? At this unexpected statement, Iyeon inadvertently made a deflating sound, but D.S, surprisingly, had a serious face.
“You know, the fairy housekeeper? The one who does housework while the owner is away.”
“No, I mean, I know what it is… but is that something that exists in modern society?”
It was quite jarring to hear D.S, who worked with cutting-edge technology more than anyone, mention a creature from folklore. Iyeon was just mumbling nonsense when he suddenly paused.
The fairy housekeeper was from a folktale about a maiden who emerged from a clam shell and secretly cooked for the homeowner while they were away working. So, when D.S said she seemed to have a fairy housekeeper in her house…
“Have you reported it to the police?”
Although it was slightly inaccurate to say D.S “left her house” since her home was attached to her workshop, she rarely entered her house when the workshop was open. This meant there was a possibility that someone had infiltrated.
It sounded nice to call it a fairy housekeeper, but wasn’t this a stalker? Considering that D.S wasn’t an engineer who only dealt with legal transactions, it could be a very dangerous situation. In fact, there had been an incident where a person with superpowers had broken in and turned the workshop upside down. Well, that had been a coincidence based on a misunderstanding, but… anyway. Despite Iyeon’s suddenly serious face, D.S herself remained unconcerned.
“No, I haven’t.”
“What? The world is so dangerous these days. What if a stranger is entering a house with a child?”
“Well… it doesn’t seem that dangerous.”
“How is unauthorized entry not dangerous?”
“That guy hasn’t stolen anything. Mirae says she’s never seen anyone, and they’re not making the house messy. Rather…”
D.S muttered with a puzzled expression. Her face suggested she wasn’t sure if what she was saying made sense.
“When I go into the house, there’s a nice smell.”
“Pardon?”
“An extremely nice smell.”
D.S emphasized deliberately. Just how nice could this smell be… Is it like a floral scent? Having no knowledge in this area, Iyeon couldn’t even begin to guess.
“Maybe you just changed your diffuser and it suits you well?”
“I don’t use diffusers.”
D.S firmly shook her head and began explaining step by step.
“My house does have an air purification system running, but there’s a limit to how much it can manage.”
That was natural. D.S barely spent any time at home. Thanks to the basic maintenance system, the various machine and oil smells from the workshop didn’t permeate her home, but she hadn’t set it up to deliberately produce a fragrant scent either. Since she also ate most of her meals in the workshop, it was normal for her house to have no scent at all. Perhaps just a faint smell of disinfectant occasionally.
“But recently, whenever I enter the house, there’s an extremely nice smell. It’s not a distinctive fragrance like perfume or diffuser… You know that scent of dry sunlight? And soap.”
Despite listing these synesthetic images, D.S’s face remained as solemn as a scientist embarking on an experiment.
“And when I lie on the bed, the blanket is so soft and fluffy. It’s clearly the same blanket I’ve been using, but it feels like it’s been washed clean and dried thoroughly, with that crisp feeling—you know what I mean? That texture. Not just the blanket. The pillow too, and even the sheet underneath. As if a fairy housekeeper had done the laundry and left.”
It was scarier because she was so serious. Her voice, reciting this with a grave face, even had a subtle note of satisfaction.
